Botswana secures P1.7bn renewable energy funding

Mbongeni Mguni | Monday July 22, 2024 06:00

Going green: Solar power panels at Mogoditshane senior Secondary school. The new funding will boost utility-scale renewable energy projects around the country

The energy storage system, a key project under government’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), will support the wave of renewable energy generation in the country, allowing “smooth integration” in the national grid.

In a statement, the World Bank and its funding partners said the loans and grants would also go towards the necessary grid investment required for the project, as well as grid expansion to rural villages and the improvement of electricity services in the Southern districts.

“The World Bank is pleased to support Botswana’s commitment to expand domestic energy generation with renewable solutions,” said World Bank country director for Botswana, Satu Kahkonen. “In addition to financing, the World Bank will provide technical assistance to facilitate further renewable energy projects. “This is an important part of our commitment to support more sustainable and inclusive growth in Botswana.”

For his part, Minerals and Energy minister, Lefoko Moagi, said electricity generation was not only critical for energy security but was also an important driver of economic growth.

“With the financing support and technical assistance from the World Bank, this investment will support us to harness our rich renewable energy resources for a reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy future,” he said.

Renewable energy makes up the bulk of the 20-year IRP, government’s blueprint of the electricity it will procure or build in the years to 2040. Various renewable projects in the IRP are at various stages of development, with the first utility-scale solar power station, under construction in Mmadinare.

Scatec ASA, the Norwegian firm that scooped the contract to build the plant to date, last year revealed that government had doubled the size of the project to 120MW.

Last year, Moagi told BusinessWeek that other renewable projects had also been increased in size and brought forward.

Government is also fast-tracking various IRP projects, as part of a plan to have renewable energy account for 30% of the country’s energy mix by 2030 and 50% by 2036.